


The Morning Report

by SpaceWaffleHouseTM



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coruscant is New York, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love Confessions, News Blunder, No Pregnancy, Reporters, Secret Relationship, Soft Dom Ben, The Morning Report is Good Morning America, They are going Viral, any questions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:07:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24354787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceWaffleHouseTM/pseuds/SpaceWaffleHouseTM
Summary: “You left without kissing me goodbye this morning.”“I’ll make up for it later.”They’re news anchors on the most watched morning tv show. They’ve been secretly dating for months. And they didn’t realize their mics were on.Now the whole nation knows they’re sleeping together.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 341
Kudos: 1463
Collections: Galactic Idiots Collection, Ijustfellintothissendhelp, Misc.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt from [galacticidiots](https://twitter.com/galacticidiots) on twitter. This was an absolute blast to write and I can’t wait to come back for the second half 😎✌️

His alarm wakes them both up long before they’re ready. It’s that stupid default radar ping sound that all iPhones are cursed with, and right now, it makes her want to shoot his stupid fucking phone. If she does that, though, she’ll miss out on his cute little “I love you” texts at work, and so she refrains from further thoughts of violence against her boyfriend’s phone.

It certainly helps that he turns the blasted thing off after only five seconds, and she’s left with the blissful silence that always settles between the alarm cutting off and him getting out of bed. Sighing contentedly, she finds herself surprised when Ben reaches across the space between them, and squeezes her hand apologetically.

They used to talk at this stage in the mornings, but they don’t need to anymore. He doesn’t need to apologize and neither does she. They’ve got this routine down to a science. They go out at night in the suburbs or sometimes they order in if they don’t want to risk being caught—unless they’re seeing a movie—then they go in to one of their apartments in uptown Coruscant and usually spend the night cuddling, cooking, throwing food at one another, or having sex. In the mornings he always leaves first to give the impression that they don’t live together and they aren’t dating, and she leaves maybe half an hour later.

It’s not that their job doesn’t let them date, but it’s highly recommended that they don’t, and well, life is just better with no one knowing they’re dating. Being the faces of The Morning Report is difficult enough without everyone being invested in their sex life, and people already think they’re dating as is.

Sure, they’re right, but that doesn’t mean they get to know they are.

Still, Rey at least hopes he’ll kiss her before he gets out of bed, but for some reason, he just rolls away, and strolls into her bathroom. They really ought to move in together, but that would make it really obvious, wouldn’t it?

They’ve been together for six months, but they’re both too afraid to take the next step. She’s not sure why they’re so scared. They have no reason to be. They both love each other—they haven’t said it, but she knows—and so there isn’t anything that should be holding them back, but they’re definitely afraid of letting the world know about them.

That’s it. Maybe they should just let go, but it’s nice not having the entire world know about them. God knows their coworkers alone would never let them hear the end of it. Especially given that they’d started off as the most intense rivalry in the entire network. They’d gotten teased so much about how they should just fuck already—they would still be hearing “I told you so,” by the time they were sixty.

Hopefully they’ll last that long. She’d like to think they will, but as Ben gets ready in the bathroom and she continues to hear no sign of any sort of “I’ll see you later” on his end. Surely he knows she’s awake?

He’ll kiss her goodbye anyway, it’s not like it matters. She’ll get what she wants. He’ll give it to her, won’t he?

Yet when he walks out of the bathroom a few minutes later, she’s disappointed that he only gives her a, “I’ll see you at work, Rey,” before he’s grabbing his suit jacket off of a nearby chair, and walking out the door. What the fuck?

She loves Ben, she really does, but she’s also going to kill him. He wasn’t running late, so where the fuck was her morning kiss? She misses his lips. Sure, they’d spent the bulk of last night kissing, but she still misses his stupid lips. They’re nice and she likes kissing them, she takes pride in being the one to kiss them.

They’re stupid because of all the dumb shit he says, but she loves him for it. She ought to tell him. Maybe it’s just time they take that next step and say those three little words. They’ve been together for half a year now. They know what this is.

Groaning, she turns over in bed, and stares out the window, watching the dawn slowly become less gray and more pink as she waits for her alarm to go off. Eventually, it does, and though her stomach is still a tense bundle of nerves, she rolls out of bed as she turns off her alarm, a brief joy setting in as she realizes she has a text from Ben waiting for her.

Ben  
  
hey, sorry I left so fast this morning. Poe wanted me to come down early. He wants me to cover for him next week.  
  
no worries! hope everything’s okay  
  
I got you breakfast so don’t worrt about making a stop  
  
*worry  
  
fucking autocorrect  
  


She laughs as she reads his last text, a smile reaching her eyes as her heart swells with joy just because she heard from him. That’s a common symptom, though, and honestly, another sign that she should’ve told him she loved him long ago.

Technically, she could do it right now, but does she dare to do it over text? No, something this intimate and personal deserves to be said when they’re together. She’ll tell him when the cameras stop rolling later.

Ben  
  
You’re an idiot. See you. ❤️  
  
again, so sorry ❤️  
  
I told you it’s fine.  
  
I know. I can’t wait to see your face.  
  
oh my GOD, Ben  
  


Fuck, he’s so awkward. She loves that about him, though, it’s his most endearing quality. It is, however, the reason she failed to realize he was trying to ask her out for a whole week before they’d started dating.

Ben is a fool, but so is she, and if she’s being honest, she can’t wait to see his face either.

Getting ready for the day becomes a lot easier after that. Before she knows it, she’s on her way out the door and walking into the parking lot of her building, wishing she and Ben could just carpool to work already. Life would be easier in that regard at least.

Still, she’s smiling at the thought of seeing him. Whatever their relationship is, however public or private, she knows it’s worth it. They’ve fought for this, and she wouldn’t change what she has with him for the world.

*

The food that’s waiting for her in her dressing room when she gets there is warm and smells like heaven in a little brown bag, even if the fast food label on it says it costs about a buck. That just makes it even better. An iced coffee has been set to the side of the order, a little heart inscribed next to her name on the plastic.

Heat rushes to her cheeks at the sight of it, and for a moment she worries someone might’ve seen it, that they’ve been caught, but then she sees the note he left on the side of the bag, and she thinks it might’ve been worth it even if someone did see it.

_I couldn’t remember if you liked pancakes or an egg McMuffin more so I might’ve gotten both? Enjoy!_

Another heart is left by the note, but there’s no signature, so unless someone saw him walk in there, they wouldn’t know it was him who left the note. They’ll just think she has a secret admirer. He is a secret to the rest of the world, after all.

She eats in silence after she finishes getting ready for the day, assistants coming in and out to let her know how much time she has left as she pins her hair back from her face, and smoothes out any remaining wrinkles on her dress. In her honest opinion, she looks _good_. The dress, green and black with a floral collar, is flattering and makes her look more awake than she is, the hair and makeup are impeccable, but what really cinches the whole thing together is the smile she can’t keep off of her face.

For once in her life, Rey is happy; really, ridiculously happy, and she never wants to come down from this high.

When there’s two minutes to show time, she makes her way out toward the studio, that smile still not quite fading from her face as she greets coworkers on her way out. It takes all of her strength not to start full on beaming as she walks in front of the cameras, watching a makeup artist powder Ben’s nose as she sits down, and another one soon comes up to start checking over _her_ makeup.

It takes her far too long to register that it’s one of her best friends she’s so lost in thought, but by the time Rose Tico notices this, she’s already gotten through powdering Rey’s face and is laughing with her arms crossed over her chest as she watches her come to. “God, you’re out of it today.”

A blush she thinks is powerful enough to show through her thick layers of foundation appears on her cheeks. “Sorry, Rose,” she replies, adjusting the sleeves of her dress as she glances up at the timer overhead to see how much time they’ve got left. “I’ll be in it soon.”

“You better. We’ve got thirty seconds.” Her friend then backs up from the stage, allowing Rey to scoot forward, and take her place behind the desk as she does every morning. “You’ll tell me about it after the break, though?”

“Maybe,” she replies, winking as she folds her hands over one another, then looks at the camera as the man behind it begins counting down from five with his fingers.

As Rose disappears behind the scenes with the remaining crew—mostly just the two cameramen, Finn Storm and Poe Dameron—she spares a glance at her co-anchor, feeling a fresh wave of joy pass through her as she realizes he’s staring back. A part of her wants to mouth a quick hi, but then the cameras are rolling, and his deep voice fills the room.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I’m Ben Solo.”

“And I’m Rey Kanata.”

“And this is The Morning Report.”

Just like that, the daily news is off without a hitch. They fall into their old, professional patterns so easily. Hosting this show together had been what took them from rivals to friends, and now that they were lovers, now that they were perfectly in sync, their chemistry allowed them to read from the prompters beside the cameras and crack jokes in between as easily as if they were breathing.

They are experts at this, their occasionally flirty rapport teasing their audience with hints that their morning show contains more spice than it does, keeping people on their toes without giving anything away as they do the most mundane thing possible—tell the morning fucking news.

As usual, it is going incredibly well. They make it through two interviews and a commercial break flawlessly, though, in hindsight that may be because they don’t get a chance to talk during those, but eventually, Rey just wants a second to talk to him. He may have texted and written her a note, but she’s still mad she didn’t get her goodbye kiss, and she wants to let him know.

She’s only human.

The instant she and Ben hand over control to the field reporter, she doesn’t even bother to check for the signal that the cameras have cut, she immediately turns to her boyfriend, and props her head up on her arm, just staring at him for a couple of seconds before his lips part in a smile, and he shakes his head in confusion. “What?”

Sitting up straight again, she clears her throat, putting on her best _serious_ voice. “You left without kissing me goodbye this morning.”

He winces as he leans in a little closer over the desk, and she can see him struggling with what to say next for a couple of seconds as she looks at him with eager anticipation. Eventually, he takes a deep breath, then offers her a lop-sides grin he knows she’s a fan of—damn him—and winks. “I’ll make up for it later.”

Before she can respond, there’s a flash of motion out of the corner of her eye, and Poe, the reason she didn’t get a goodbye kiss in the first place, is waving desperately to catch their attention from behind his camera. Confusion fills her for a couple of seconds as she peers beyond the lights to see him frantically pointing to a monitor beyond the camera where they’re supposed to be seeing the reporter in Coruscant square talking about the newest broadway hit with some of the cast.

What they actually see is their own faces, and Rey realizes with horror that the entire nation, everyone in their workplace, has just seen this. All of Coruscant and the country just heard them basically admit they were fucking on national television, and all she can do is cover her mouth as it falls open in horror.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no._

This can’t be happening. It isn’t real. Out loud she’s laughing nervously as the reins get handed over to the reporter in Coruscant square after far too long, but internally she’s screaming. Sure, she’s been hoping they could start admitting they’re a couple in public, but she didn’t want it to happen like this.

Their producer announces that everyone can take five, and a little bell rings to announce that they have five minutes before they have to be on air again, then she feels big, strong hands gripping her shoulders, and Ben’s warm, brown eyes are looking into hers, searching them to make sure she’s all right. “I am so sorry, Rey,” he breathes, one of his hands twitching up briefly as if he desperately wants to caress her cheeks, but doesn’t know if he can. “I should’ve made sure we weren’t rolling—“

She shakes her head. “No, it’s my fault I started it.” Then she sniffles, and, _oh god,_ she’s about to start fucking crying and they have minutes before they are back on air.

“Shhhh,” he whispers, scooting his chair closer to hers as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, and pulls her close against his chest. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Everyone knows.” Another sniffle, then she starts blinking furiously to prevent her eyes from watering as pure fear courses through her veins. What the hell is about to happen to them? The internet is about to explode. What if they get fired for admitting to fucking on television? What if she just cost them their jobs? She doubts that’ll happen. They’re loved by all the producers and managers of the studio, but still, she’s terrified. “I—I opened my mouth and everyone knows and you didn’t ask for this.”

“Hey, hey, hey, look at me.”

She does, and there’s so much kindness and sincerity in his eyes, she knows instantly that he’s not mad, he’s perfectly okay with this. He’s all right with the world knowing, and seeing his reaction, she starts to calm down. “I…”

“Rey, I should’ve been more honest with you about what I want,” he says, then he’s taking her hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he speaks, and she tilts her head up to meet his gaze as his other hand begins to rub her shoulder as if it’s the most casual thing in the world. “I—if I’m being honest, I’ve been ready to come forward with this for a little while now, and I should’ve told you so before now, but—“ He laughs, gesturing to the studio around them, where whispers fill the space with far more noise than their quiet tones intend. “Here we are.”

“I should’ve said something, too,” she says with a sniffle. “So you’re okay with this?”

“I am.”

“Even if it means facing a lot of press?”

“We are the press.”

There’s a worried look in her eyes, she knows there is.“The _other_ press?”

A tiny short escapes him, then his face falls, his features becoming more serious, but the look in his eyes is still tender as he looks at her. “Rey, I—“ He swallows, then he nods, tightening his grip on her as he catches his breath. “I’d face anything with you, including the nonstop twitter barrage and media shit storm we’ll get once this goes viral. You’re worth everything to me, worth putting our asses on the line for, and—“

“I am?”

“Would you please let me finish my sentence?”

Her cheeks grow hot. “Right, sorry.”

He smiles again, broadly enough that she can see his dimples. “Hey, I love you. I love you so fucking much. I should’ve said that sooner.”

Her heart is beating so loudly she almost loses her ability to hear, but she manages to catch those three words she’d been planning to tell him all day. Excitement buzzes in her veins as she leans her forehead against his, sighing her relief as she replies, “I love you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to tell you, but you beat me to it.”

Another big, goofy smile. “I win.”

“Fuck you,” she teases, wanting more than anything to kiss him, but they have probably less than two minutes until they’re on air again and they’ve probably pushed their luck with the public display of affection as is.

“We’ll do that tonight, okay?” is his reply, and it leaves her smiling as they part, her boyfriend squeezing her hand one last time before they part, and their makeup artists rush up on the stage to give them a touch up.

Rose starts speaking to her, but she barely registers it as she repeats his confession in her head like a mantra, a fresh rush of heat flooding her cheeks even as her makeup artist starts chattering excitedly, powder covering Rey’s vision as she removes the shine from her face. “I can’t believe that’s why you were so nervous. How long have you guys been fucking?”

“What?”

“You.” She points to her co-anchor. “Ben. How long has that been going on?”

The temptation to slam her palm into her face is overwhelming, but they’ve just agreed that they can be open about this now, and so she takes a deep breath, and nods. “It’s more than that,” she admits sheepishly. “We’re in a relationship.”

“You’re in a what?”

“A relationship. He cooks me dinner and leaves me dumb little post-it notes around my apartment when he’s there. I bring him his favorite takeout and pay for movies when we go out.” She can’t believe she’s admitting this out loud, she’s so used to keeping it a secret by now, and yet it’s the most natural and effortless thing in the world to talk about Ben like this. Maybe it helps that Rose is her friend and she trusts her, but still, it’s an amazing feeling.

The makeup artist blinks, then she smiles as she sets her brush back into her belt and the powder goes into a pocket. “That’s sickeningly sweet, but I’m happy for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she replies, patting Rey’s arm before she steps back. “Look you’re on in thirty, so I’ve gotta go, but good luck dealing with all that and text me everything later, okay?”

“I will,” she says, then Rose disappears, making her way back behind the camera as she and Ben turn to face it.

For a half second, he looks at her, and a sense of calm washes over Rey as she nods, her fingertips brushing against his over the desk before they both put their hands back in place in front of them. The only change between when the cameras had cut and now is that they’re sitting a bit closer together, and she can almost feel his warmth as the text on the promoter rolls up, and Poe counts down the remaining five seconds to when they’re on air.

“Welcome back to The Morning Report,” Ben says. “First things first, we'd like to make an apology for the comments we made while the cameras were rolling.”

“And remind any and all reporters watching this to make sure they aren’t still on before speaking freely,” Rey finishes, finding the text on the prompter utterly ridiculous, but apparently the network has decided to go the way of comedy. “Sorry.”

“Definitely, and before we get back to the news, I’m gonna break from the prompter to remind everyone watching to always kiss your partner before you leave the house.” Ben looks at her then, those dimples lighting up the room as he turns his gaze back on the camera. It’s a god damned _miracle_ they’re not getting fired. “And speaking of leaving the house, those ring doorbells that have become popular have caused quite a stir amongst delivery workers.”

It’s quite a segue, but it works. They launch back into work like it’s nothing, their professionalism taking hold again as the show goes on, and her confidence begins to build anew.

She feels ready to take on anything, their relationship, their jobs, and even the blow up she knows awaits them on the internet. Whatever comes at them, she’s ready for it all—

But first, she needs him to make it up to her. The world can wait for that much at least, can’t it?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi thank you all SO MUCH for your response to the first part, I’m truly honored. The HTML on this was a pain in the butt, but so, so Worth it. This is also now getting a third part because well PORN
> 
> **edit: a note to those using dark mode on whatever you’re reading this on, there are tweets embedded in this chapter with HTML that will be harder to read. It’s not impossible, but the text becomes faint for some reason on dark mode so I figured I’d put up a warning. I’ll see what I can do about fixing it but for now that might be a problem 😂

Rose 🌹  
  
Rey?  
  
Reyyyyyyy  
  
Rey I swear on god if you don’t answer my texts   
  
Rey you are trending on twitter  
  
BABE??? They gave you a couple name!!!  
  


Her phone won’t stop buzzing, but it’s in her breast pocket, and her hands are occupied with her boyfriend’s hair. His hands are just as occupied with her waist, and they haven’t even kissed yet, but she doesn’t want to interrupt this moment. They only have ten minutes before they have to be back at work, ten minutes until they have to address the headlines about themselves that have already cropped up. It’s been two hours since the blunder, and the show is nearly over, but they both know it’s already gone viral.

Ben groans as her phone buzzes again, his forehead pressed against hers as they sway together in her dressing room, their only escape from the prying eyes of their coworkers who all want to know what the fuck is happening. “You can answer it.”

“No, you promised you’d kiss me, I can ignore Rose for two more minutes.”

Soft laughter falls from his lips, then one of his hands comes up to support her chin, his eyes rolling before he leans in, and presses a short, sweet kiss to hers. She barely has time to return it, so instead she chases after him, using her grip in his hair to tug him back to her as he gives a tiny little moan in response against her lips.

“Rey,” he whispers, but then he’s being kissed again, and she’s smiling against his lips as he kisses her back, his hand covering her cheek as she rises onto the balls of her feet to kiss him more deeply.

Her phone continues buzzing against her chest, but she ignores it, and eventually, so does he. Before she knows it, Ben is melting against her, stepping forward as she steps back until she’s against the wall, her feet barely attached to the ground as the arm that’s on her waist pulls her into him, but she doesn’t mind the feeling. It’s almost like floating, and it’s a way better kiss than anything he could’ve given her that morning.

It’s still not enough, though. She fully expects more once he takes her home, but for the time being, since they’re at work and want to avoid getting into more trouble than they already are in, it works.

He presses her head back against the wall, his tongue sweeping along her lower lip as she welcomes him in, her head spinning like she’s dizzy as he kisses the life back into her. Rose is going to have to perform miracles with lipstick soon, but it’s worth it. He’s worth it.

Slowly, he pulls away, his chest heaving in time with hers as he sweeps a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

She just smiles. “You have lipstick on your teeth.”

Groaning dramatically, Ben pulls away, setting her back down on her feet as he begins furiously wiping at his mouth to get rid of all traces of the pink she’d put on her lips that morning. She giggles as she watches him, then she pulls her phone out of her pocket, first checking her reflection in the screen to fix all of her smudges, then checking her messages to see how many more Rose has left since the last flurry of buzzes she’d felt against her chest.

Rose 🌹  
  
REYLO. WHAT THE FUXK??? They’re calling y’all REYLO  
  
REYYYYYYYYY  
  
there is an entire subreddit dedicated to figuring out when y’all started fucking!  
  
THERES A WHAT???  
  
a subreddit. Dedicated to. When y’all. Started fucking.  
  
gross, why???  
  
people are weird, Rey, never doubt their ability to make you uncomfortable.   
  
but oh MY GOD you’re the number one trending hashtag on twitter. #reylogate  
  
oh god… my mOM PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT YHIS  
  
Rey, Maz isn’t going to judge you  
  
YEAH BUT SHE DOESNT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MY SEX LIFE  
  
hey, it’s not like you told the world what sex positions you do or what toys you use  
  
great now IM thinking about it  
  
please stop picturing me having sex  
  
It’s not voluntary.  
  
GAHHHHHHHH I CANT BELIEVE I DID THIS THIS IS THE WORRRST  
  
everyone seems supportive! You’re probably fine!  
  


That’s true. So far, no one has gotten mad at them, and even the comments from their coworkers so far have mostly involved the word “congratulations,” but still. Maz is going to give her an earful later, and so she lets out a frustrated groan, one her partner is quick to catch.

“You okay?”

“Fine, I just… I don’t want to deal with my mother asking me all these questions about you.”

He winces at that. “Yeah, my mother’s probably already blown up my phone asking when we’re getting married,” he admits, then he laughs. “She’s been pestering me about finding someone for years.”

“So has mine,” Rey replies, then he’s sweeping her into his arms again, and she sighs against his chest. “What do we tell them?”

She can feel him shrug as he rests his head over the top of hers, it’s become his favorite perch, she’s noticed, and she has to admit she’s a fan. “Maybe we could invite them over.”

Pulling back, she places her hands on his chest. _“What?”_ she asks. “Are you insane?”

“We’ve been together for six months, I think I’m ready for the ‘meet the parents’ stage if you are.” His voice is serious, more sober than she’s ever heard it, and her heart does a few more backflips in her chest as she realizes how committed he is to this relationship. This is so far from the casual fling that it started out as, so far from the rivalry they’d once been, and she realizes as she looks at him that maybe she’s ready for that, too.

Breathing deeply, she nods, biting her lip for a second before she gives him her answer. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“We can invite our parents over for dinner.”

“Are you sure? My mother might start pestering you about grandchildren and we’re still—“

“Ben, my mother will do the same to you. It’s okay. They’re just excited,” she assures him, then she reaches up to brush her fingers over his dimples as he grins, looking as though he’s only just fighting back the urge to kiss her again. “I love you, and I’m ready to meet your mother.”

“Awesome.”

“Mmm,” she hums as he kisses her again, then she pulls back. “Come on. We have to get back on set. Everyone’s probably scrambling to find us.”

“Let them.”

_“Ben.”_

Another groan leaves him as he pulls away from her, but keeps one of her hands in his, pulling her with him as they make their way out of her dressing room. “Come on. Let’s go finish this.”

“Let’s,” she says, then together, they walk back out in front of the cameras, their makeup artists descending on them in seconds as they sit down, and smooth out their clothes, praying it isn’t obvious that they’ve just been making out in the back.

*

Tits Mitaka  
@DMitaka   
anyone else call it years ago that #reylo were fucking? Come 👏 the 👏 fuck 👏 on 👏 y’all. Anyone who laughs at Ben Solo’s jokes has to be getting that good 🍆 I’m just saying.  12:00 PM - 04 May 2020  6,200  15,042 

#cancelthemorningreport  
@armitagehux   
I think #reylo should be fired holy shit. imagine admitting on a show children sometimes watch that you’re having sex 12:02 PM - 04 May 2020  60  150 

Hoe Dameron  
@poesDAMNeron   
#reylogate still can’t believe this is a thing that I witnessed with my own two eyeballs. Am I too gay or just blind enough that I didn’t see it?  12:03 PM - 04 May 2020  678  2,300 

finnstagram  
@FinnItToWinIt   
what’s more famous #reylogate or #watergate? Richard Nixon is QUAKING.  12:03 PM - 04 May 2020  6,863  8,304 

The tweets leave Rey speechless. Most of them aren’t bad, but it’s the sheer volume of them that makes her jaw drop as she and Ben leave the studio that day, making their way out the back to avoid any _other_ reporters who might want to get commentary on #reylogate from the couple themselves.

Luckily, they manage to escape to their respective cars, which, as usual, are parked next to one another in spite of the crowded parking lot. It truly is a wonder no one figured out they were fucking before now.

“Hey, look at this one,” Ben says as she reaches for the handle of her car door. Before she can even turn around, her tree trunk of a boyfriend is weaving gracelessly between their two cars with his phone outstretched in his hand. “We could go on Buzzfeed thirst tweets.”

“Oh dear god,” she mutters, taking the phone from his hand as she reads the thirst tweet in question.

BAZZY  
@BazNetal   
of course the two most fuckable reporters alive are banging, y’all, that’s just symmetry smh  12:04 PM - 04 May 2020  1032  8383 

And right below that, another tweet by the same account.

BAZZY  
@BazNetal   
also I want it to be clear that I have three holes and he is welcome to all of them. Every single one. As many times as he wants. Ben Solo is just pure fucking sex, dude.  12:05 PM - 04 May 2020  10757  68909 

If she had a drink, she would’ve spit it out. Fortunately, she doesn’t, but she does snort her laughter as Ben’s face turns bright red, and he puts his phone in his jacket pocket. “What does she _mean_ three holes?” His voice is a squeak at the end, and it only makes Rey laugh harder, to the point where she’s uncertain she’ll be able to drive home successfully.

“Oh my _god_ , Ben,” she breathes, then she steps forward, taking his hands in hers before bringing them to her lips. “You’re a fan favorite.”

“Rey, I wasn’t emotionally prepared for this.”

“What, for random people on the internet to want to fuck you?” she asks, kissing his hands again. “They’ve wanted to do that for far longer than you’ve been fucking me.”

“That’s fair.”

“Last week I read a tweet about you that said ‘I’m pretty sure his middle finger could reach my cervix.’”

He chokes on his own breath, then she sets his hands down at their sides. “I—“

“Hey, I’ll see you at your place, all right? I’m grabbing Chopsticks on the way. We can read thirst tweets over sushi, hmm?”

“Sounds good,” he says, then he sneaks in a quick kiss to her forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She’s smiling like an idiot for a couple of seconds as he walks away, still barely able to believe that they’ve reached that stage. So much has happened today that she almost can’t believe they’ve hit the point of “I love you,” but they have, haven’t they? This relationship is no longer just their little secret, but it’s serious, it’s committed, and they’re in it for the long haul.

Excitement buzzing in her veins, she hops into her car, and starts the engine, eager to get to Ben’s apartment already and devour more takeout than they can eat.

*

Ben  
  
Hey, babe?  
  
what’s up?  
  
the chopsticks lady who took my order asked when you were putting a ring on it 🤦♀️  
  
oh my god...  
  
I know  
  
wait this isn’t one of those things where you’re subtly asking me to buy you a ring, right?  
  
Cause I will?  
  
No, Ben 😂 I love you, but we’ve taken enough major relationship milestones today. Let’s slow down.  
  
Agreed. No proposals until tomorrow.  
  
BEN!  
  
I’m kidding.  
  
I am going to strangle you.  
  
See you in ten?  
  
See you in ten 😘  
  


She leaves the takeout restaurant with another dumb grin on her face as she opens her unread text messages from Rose. Approximately fifty links to different thirst tweets and buzzfeed articles await her, but those can wait until later. Even if the last tweet of the bunch says: “lesbians everywhere are in mourning, but good for Rey for getting that dick.”

The first thing she’s doing when she gets home, though, is showing Ben every single one of those tweets. Especially that last one. For scientific purposes, of course.

Rose, however, has other plans. They don’t necessarily cancel out the ones she has for the evening, but they certainly make it a whole lot longer. Once she’s parked safely in Ben’s apartment complex parking lot, she grabs their takeout and starts checking her phone to see what else happened while she was en route.

Apparently, it’s a lot.

Rose 🌹  
  
I AM LOSING MY MIND HAVE YOU SEEN THE TRAP REMIX OF YOU ADMITTING YOURE FUCKING BEN  
  
It kind of slaps tbh  
  
what the fuck  
  
I’m going to need you both to memorize this and perform an acapella cover of it immediately.  
  
We are NOT performing a cover of the trap remix, Rose.  
  
Listen, it was worth a try.  
  
You’re the worst.  
  
Look, I gotta go. Dinner at Ben’s place tonight ❤️✌️  
  
👀 have funnnnnn  
  


Oh, she plans to. A fresh wave of excitement washes over her as she walks into the building, doing her best not to run in the hall up to the elevator as she goes. There’s soup in that takeout bag, after all, and it would do her no good to spill it.

It feels like forever passes in that elevator, but eventually, she’s free, and she speed walks down the hall to Ben’s apartment, shooting a text his way to let him know she’s there.

By the time she reaches his door, it’s clear that he got that text. The door is open for her when she arrives, and behind it, she can see his large frame leaning against the wall in an attempt to look casual, but it’s not working. Still she finds it rather endearing, and as she closes the door behind her, she’s grinning at him like he’s the sun.

“Funny seeing you here,” he says as they walk together into his kitchen, and she sets the takeout bag down on his counter.

“Yeah, I know, what a coincidence.” She then giggles as he wraps an arm around her waist, placing a kiss on the side of her head as he reaches into the bag, and starts helping her unload the bounty of her trip. “Hi, stranger.”

“Hi.”

Another giggle falls free as he pulls away, both of them more focused on unloading their food now as they talk. “Did you hear there’s a trap remix of us on YouTube?”

“A what?”

“Someone turned me telling the world I’ve fucked you into a song,” she tells him, feeling heat rise to her cheeks as he starts snickering helplessly. “Rose wants us to perform a cover of it. Probably wants us to post it to twitter, too, but she won’t say.”

A snort leaves him. “A fucking trap remix, Jesus.”

“Yeah. So what’s going on with you? Any of your friends decide to be assholes?”

“Just Poe so far.” He pauses, then he puts a finger up as he sets down the last tray of sushi in the bag. “And my mother.”

She can fucking feel her face grow pale. “Oh no.”

“No, it’s nothing bad,” he assures her, his arms finding their way around her waist, hands resting low by the base of her spine as she tilts her head up to look into his eyes. “They love you.”

At this, she _gulps_. “They?”

“Dad saw it, too. Mom said it was something he would’ve done. He denies it, but we all know it’s true.” More laughter, then he leans in a little closer. “They’re mostly just mad that I didn’t tell them about you sooner and really want to meet you.”

“They like me?”

“They’d be crazy not to.” He hums against her as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, and presses a kiss to his cheek. “I think the fact that you’ve ensured I won’t die alone helps.”

“Mmm. And you’ve done the same for me,” she says, then she pats the phone she’s placed back in her breast pocket. “Mum hasn’t texted me yet, though. Don’t worry, she still might, she just doesn’t know how to use a phone.”

“I’m sure she’ll learn.”

“Mmm, fair. I don’t want her to. I’m not ready.”

The corners of his mouth twitch. “Rey, I’m sure she’ll love and support you no matter what happens.” He kisses her forehead again. “Okay?”

She gives him a nod. “Okay.”

“Let’s eat. That’ll take your mind off of it, at least for a little while,” he says, pulling away from her to reach into the cabinets behind him for their plates.

He hands one to her, grabbing one for himself immediately after, then together, the two of them come around to the barstools lined up on the other side of his kitchen counter, and sit down together in perfect unison. “I have seen some of the thirst tweets, though. People get… creative.”

Another blush creeps up her cheeks as she takes a bite of a California roll. “I know. I saw one that said lesbians everywhere were in mourning that I’m taken.”

“Did you see the one where someone said ‘I want them to murder me?’ I found that one concerning.”

“They mean sexually, Ben.”

“What?”

“They want us to murder them… sexually.”

“... what the fuck is wrong with twitter?”

Rey just laughs at him as she pulls out her phone. “Just scroll. There’s a few that are genuinely kind of fucked up, but for the most part everyone’s either tweeting their support or being nice in general.”

REYLOGATE  
@reylogatecaptain   
#reylogate changed my handle! this is a Morning Report stan account now.  2:30 PM - 04 May 2020  56  234 

unofficial morning report  
@morningsreport   
the only sad thing about this is that Ben Solo has pERFECT dick sucking lips. Why are those lips wasted on a man who isn’t sucking dick?  2:45 PM - 04 May 2020  9087  20381 

#REYLOGATE PARTY  
@reyloofsunshine   
#reylodamn, ma, y’all free Friday night? 2:45 PM - 04 May 2020  833  2,456 

Hoe Dameron  
@poeDAMNeron   
In all seriousness, though, I hope they’re doing okay. Let’s remember these are real people with real feelings. Be careful what you say ❤️. #reylogate 2:52 PM - 04 May 2020  909  5,204 

MORNING REPORT  
@andwhataboutit   
my poor fucking clit y’all. I been knew Ben Solo was hot but after #reylogate ? Delectable. 2:53 PM - 04 May 2020  872  7787 

fuck #reylogate  
@benswolostan   
Mmm, not sure how I feel about #reylogate they used to hate each other. Isn’t that toxic? 2:54 PM - 04 May 2020  36  51 

K A Y D E L  
@konnicks   
@everyone only just noticing how hot the morning report hosts are WHERE 👏 ARE 👏 YOUR 👏 EYES 👏  2:55 PM - 04 May 2020  9382  73811 

Rey Kanata stan acc  
@reyday   
I AM SCREAMING I CANT WAIT FOR THE WEDDING @MorningReportABC #reylogate YALL KNOW WHAT TO DO  2:57 PM - 04 May 2020  554  1,479 

Ben gives a fresh snort at that last one. “Are they trying to suggest we televise our wedding?”

“I think so.”

“If we get married, we are definitely not televising our wedding.”

She laughs half heartedly as she shoves the last bite of sushi into her mouth. “No, we aren’t.”

Ben frowns as he wipes his hands off, then he stands up, swallowing the last bit of his food before he takes her chair in his hands, then turns her around so that she’s facing him as concern furrows his brow. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, tell me.”

Sighing, she swallows her nerves, then shrugs. “I’m just still so embarrassed.”

“Rey.” He tilts her head up on one finger. “You didn’t know. It’s not your fault. It’s mine for not kissing you goodbye before I left this morning.”

“Mmm, you've more than made up for that, though.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Have I?” he asks, leaning down to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I’d thought I made it clear when I said I’ll make it up to you later I meant I’d be giving you more than just a kiss.”

The shiver she does in his arms can’t be helped. He’s warm, impossibly so, and in spite of this, she finds herself shaking. “ _Ben_.”

All he gives her in response is a grin, then his arms are around her waist again, and he’s lifting her into the air, causing her to shriek delightedly as her legs wrap around his hips, her heels digging into his ass as he kisses her, and whirls her away to their living room couch to make good on that promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE REACH THE END! This is pretty much pure smut so not much fancy shit this time, but I'm debating adding a fourth part. If I do it'll probably be another week since I've already put my other WIPs on hold enough as is to finish this :D but still. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I've grown very attached to our Morning Report hosts. This is also mostly unedited

The moment her back hits the couch, he’s settling between her legs, and his body is massive, but he somehow manages to fit perfectly on top of her as his arms settle on either side of her head, his hands twining themselves in her hair as they craftily undo the bun she’d pulled it into that morning. She groans his name once he frees her hair tie, but she’s delighted to have it let loose. It feels better this way, flowing and free, and he knows she likes it better that way, too. 

Ben, for all his faults, is one of the most intuitive men she’s met. 

One of said faults, though, is the way he tends to just stare at her right before they get intimate. His eyes are locked on hers, his hands are gently stroking her hair, and his body feels like the best kind of warm blanket where it rests on top of her, but in spite of how ridiculous it is, she loves it. He feels nice, but _god_ she wishes he would just _move_. She can feel his erection at the apex of her thighs, and she needs him to do something about it. 

Maybe he can start taking off her clothes. 

“Would you quit staring and fuck me, please?” she asks, then he frowns, but there’s a mocking glint in his eyes that suggests to her he isn’t actually upset. 

“You want me to fuck you without kissing you first?” His hand comes down from her hair to cup her cheek, and that infamous smirk of his parts his lips as his thumb sweeps gently over hers. “I can think of no greater crime.”

“Then why don’t you kiss me?” 

He does, but not where she wants him to. His lips land on the corner of her mouth, and she even closes her eyes in anticipation, but he doesn’t give her what she wants. When his lips move further from her mouth on his next kiss, she fucking whimpers, knowing he’s about to draw out this torture for as long as he possibly can, and it’s not fair. They’ve had one _hell_ of a day. She deserves to be kissed, him not kissing her is the reason they’re in this mess, but then he’s kissing her neck, and— _oh_ —that feels better than anything else. 

Still, she wants him to kiss her, properly, like they’re new lovers. Right on the mouth. She wants to smudge her lipstick all over his stupid face, but he’s not giving up his crusade. 

Ben sucks her skin into his mouth, just by where her pulse is racing, and she gasps as her hands come to his hair, taking the raven waves in her fingers as he nips the skin with his teeth, marking her before he moves toward the front of her throat. The kisses become softer here, just a tender brush of skin against skin, but each one leaves her trembling harder than the last. 

His hands slowly push themselves beneath her, and she arches her back into him to allow him to grip the zipper of her dress, pulling it down as his lips gently press against her chin. “I could kiss you now,” he whispers, his voice soft, gentle as he lets his lips hover over hers. 

“Please…”

“Or I could take your clothes off instead.” He kisses the corner of her mouth, and she groans as his fingers take the fabric of her dress in his hands, and he begins to slide it from her shoulders. “I think I’ll do that.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Love you,” he replies casually, but she can tell he means it, even if he’s currently occupying his time torturing her. 

Slowly, Ben pulls off of her, then together, they peel the dress free from her body, and she kicks off her shoes before he sets his sights on the thin, nude pantyhose she’s wearing. There’s a hint of mischief in his eyes, and she knows what he’s going to do before he does it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make her lose her mind when he takes the dainty fabric in his hands, and peels it down her legs, tearing it significantly in the process. 

It’s not as if she doesn’t have other pairs, but she doesn’t have nearly as unlimited a pantyhose budget as he thinks she does. They both enjoy it when he tears them off, though, so she’s not complaining. In all honesty, she finds it ridiculously hot—even if he does piss her off sometimes when he does it. 

Once he finishes his work on her pantyhose, discarding them in the pile made by her dress and shoes, he crawls back over her at a snail’s pace, taking her thighs in his hands, and parting them as he kisses his way up each one. Her breathing grows shaky as he places one leg on each shoulder, her heels digging softly into his back as he continues to pepper her skin with featherlight kisses. “Shit, Ben…”

He laughs as he places a kiss just by the line of her underwear, and she props her head upon her arms to watch him, hypnotized by the way he moves. It’s almost graceful, she thinks, but she doesn’t think much else before he presses an open-mouthed kiss to her cunt. He hasn’t even bothered to remove her underwear yet, but he is still doing it anyway, tasting her through her clothes as she writhes beneath him. 

Her boyfriend’s eyes remain firmly locked on hers as he presses his nose against her clit, nuzzling it gently as he pulls back. “God, you’re so wet.”

“Because you’re driving me insane,” she breathes, meaning to sound deep and sexy, but instead it just comes out shy and pitchy. This is what he does to her, he reduces her into a puddle in the sweetest way possible, and she loves it, but _fuck_ does it drive her crazy. 

“Mmm,” he hums, then his fingers dig beneath the waistband of her underwear, and he begins to peel them away. “Can I just tear these off? I don’t want to move.”

“I paid twenty dollars for those.”

“Why the fuck would you pay twenty dollars for underwear?”

“Ask Victoria, it’s her secret.”

An amused scoff leaves him, then he makes quick work of peeling them off, tossing them off into oblivion before he crawls right back into place, and she crosses her ankles over his back, her hands coming up to cup his cheeks as his breath ghosts over the apex of her thighs. “You happy?”

“I’d be happier if you kissed me.”

“Come for me and then we’ll talk,” he replies, then before she can protests, his tongue presses against her, licking a stripe up to her clit as he somehow manages another fucking smirk. 

She’s going to kill him, she really is, but she doesn’t want to die before he makes her come, so maybe murder will have to wait a moment.

He does it again, and her back arches, her head falling limply against the couch cushions as she gasps from the feeling it brings her, her body seizing around him as he then dips his tongue inside of her. “ _Ben!_ ” 

All he does is laugh wickedly against her cunt, his tongue coming up to flick at her clit before he takes it into his mouth, and sucks. Oh, god, she needed this. She needed this so badly. The way he makes her feel relaxes her entire body even as she becomes wound up—but it’s the good kind of wound up, the sort that is actually pleasant. 

It’s the kind of thing she could get lost in forever, and she finds she’s not even mad that he hasn’t kissed her yet, he’s more than making up for it—as he’d promised her on live television in front of millions of Americans—he still needs to kiss her, but it can wait. This is more than worth the wait. 

She is, however, reminded that they did confess to fucking on national television, and while they’ve had a fun time reading twitter’s reaction, they still have to deal with what comes next. Thinking of that makes her nervous, and even as his tongue swirls around her clit, causing her to moan, she’s still worried about what it means for their future. They aren’t exactly the type of people to attract paparazzi, but when she thinks about the encounter she had getting their take out earlier… 

They're going to get a lot more questions from here on out. It’s going to be difficult to face people on the street and at work, and HR hasn’t even emailed them yet about whatever disciplinary action they’re going to be facing. 

That, and, well, they’ve still got all these steps they’ve just taken in their relationship—namely, meeting one another’s parents… _fuck,_ she’s scared about that. Everything is scary and exciting at the same time, but she doesn’t have time to dwell on it, Ben grips her ass in the palm of his stupidly over-sized hand, and she loses her mind all over again as he buries his tongue deep inside of her, curling it as she cries out his name, and falls over the edge. 

Her vision goes white as she comes, everything soon becoming a blur of rainbow dots like she’s stood up too fast as his name flies off of her lips, and she struggles to remember how to breathe. It makes her forget everything she’d been worried about, and for a good ten or so seconds, she is completely at peace, a perfect serenity filling her as she slowly comes down from her high, and Ben pulls away from her cunt. 

A little moan escapes him as his tongue sweeps over his lower lip, tasting her one last time before he crawls over her, and braces himself over her, his face inches from hers as he studies it, his hair hanging around his face in a curtain that draws her focus right to his eyes as she pants, her chest heaving with every breath. “What’s wrong?” he asks, intuitive as ever as his weight presses back into her body, and his hands comb through her hair. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing, I can see it in your eyes.”

“I—” She swallows her nerves, then she places her hands on his chest, gripping the collar of his shirt as she tries to find the words. “I know this is all being treated as some kind of joke, but it’s our lives, Ben. I just… We still haven’t heard anything from HR, and I know you said your parents are supportive, but I haven’t— I just… I don’t know, this all happened so fast, and I don’t want to be scared, but I am.”

Ben hesitates a second, but then he nods, and he takes her hands in one of his as he adjusts himself so that he’s lying beside her. “I know, I’m scared, too. It’s terrifying, but… we’ve got this, Rey. We’ll make it through. Okay?”

“I know, but—”

“What did I tell you earlier?” he asks, running his thumb over the back of hers as he uses his other arm to pull her into a warm embrace—which is much appreciated, seeing as the temperature of the room has started to plummet now that she’s cooling down. “I told you, I’d face anything with you, and I meant it. I told you I love you not because it was what you needed to hear, but because it’s what I feel. It’s because I would walk through fire and climb mountains.” 

She laughs as he gives her another dimple-surrounded grin. “Yeah, I suppose.”

“It’s like Africa—the song, not the continent,” he says, causing her to giggle again as he rolls onto his back, and pulls her on top of him, his fingers picking lazily at the strap of her bra as she rests her forehead against his. “It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you and there’s nothing that a hundred men or more could _ever_ do. That sounds cheesy, but I mean it.” Another tiny smile. “We’ll get through this together. We’re strong enough. So if people ask us on the street about this? We’ll be ready. When my parents pester us about getting married? We’ll be ready. We’ll take on all of it, okay?”

Rey sniffles, but somehow manages a smile. “Okay.”

“Good,” he says, then his hand comes up from her back, unclipping her bra as he goes, and she sighs against him as his hand cups the base of her skull, and finally, after what has felt like a lifetime of waiting, he kisses her. 

He has control of the kiss for a couple of seconds as their lips first come together, but once they find their rhythm, once the fire starts to burn, he lets go, and she seizes it, tipping his head back into the couch as one of her legs wedges between his, allowing her to feel his erection brushing against her thigh as she kisses him dizzy. Soft little moans escape him as one of her hands begins making its way down, and he starts fucking _grinning_ against her mouth as she starts undoing his belt, then his zipper. 

Ben melts against her as she moves, her fingers digging beneath the waistband of his pants as she pulls them down, but only enough to free the erection he’s had since the moment they started kissing by the counter. They’ve got plenty of time, but she’s been waiting for this all day, she’s been _eager_ for this all day, and she doesn’t want to wait another minute. He might’ve gotten her naked, but she was only wearing a dress. 

He’s technically only wearing a few layers, his jacket is hanging on the wall by the entrance to his apartment, but she doesn’t want to deal with all the buttons on his shirt. So she does the bare minimum, and straddles him, swinging one leg over his hips as she breaks the kiss to just stare at him for a couple of seconds. Perhaps she has the same annoying habit as him, maybe they’re both just saps and are too stupid to admit it. 

“Don’t be a tease,” he whispers, and she can tell he wants to be a cocky asshole as he says it, but he doesn’t have the energy. He wants to stare at her as much as she wants to stare at him. 

“You’re one to talk,” she says, taking his cock in her hand, and stroking it gently as he begins to shiver beneath her. 

“Don’t we need a condom?”

“I’ve been on the pill for months, Ben.”

“Right, right, sorry.”

“You’re an idiot,” she replies, kissing him one last time before she continues her work. 

“ _Fuck_ that feels so good, Rey.” He gasps as she swipes her thumb over his tip, his hands gripping her waist before they slide down to her hips, holding her steady as she begins positioning herself over his cock. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…”

The best part about having sex with Ben? How vocal he is. He’s unashamed, and it’s fucking _freeing_. He just does not give a single fuck if anyone can hear him. Sure, he’s not exactly shouting to get people’s attention, but he doesn’t apologize for every single moan he gives her either. 

That’s a good thing, too, because he gives her several as she begins sinking down onto him, taking him inch by inch until she reaches her minute, then she sits comfortably for a couple of seconds, taking him in again as she observes the flush that’s now coloring his cheeks. He’s pretty when he blushes. The pink hue is rather lovely, in her honest opinion, and she strives for any opportunity to see it. 

Eventually, though she starts to move, riding him slowly at first, but then with reckless abandon as he watches her intently, his eyes hooded but unblinking as they lose themselves to each other. He feels _incredible_ , and while his size is close to that of a porn-star, they somehow fit perfectly, as though they were physically made for each other, not just mentally. 

One of his hands adjusts its position as she moves, his thumb rubbing circles into her clit in a way that causes her movements to stutter. “Fuck, Ben…” 

“You are.”

More laughter rumbles her chest. “I’m going to _kill_ you,” she replies, smacking her palm against his chest as he starts laughing so hard she’s nearly shaken off of him, and they have to pause for a moment to get their bearings. She folds her arms over his chest, resting her chin on them as she looks up at the shit-eating grin on his face. “I hate you.”

“And to think, we made so much progress today.”

“You’re a dick.”

“Yes, and you’re on mine so would you please do us both a favor and keep moving?” 

Shaking her head at him one last time, she presses a kiss to his jaw, then pulls back, riding his cock as if nothing had ever happened as he resumes his work on her clit, his other hand gripping her ass a little too tightly as he whimpers her name. “ _Rey_...” 

All she does in response is ride him a little faster, wanting to see him fall apart the same way she had earlier. He’s more than made up for his failure to kiss her goodbye that morning, and now she’s the one who’s indebted to him. 

It almost makes her feel guilty when she comes first, when she begins fluttering around him, but it’s not as blinding as her first one, maybe she’s still a little too blissed out. The look on his face when she comes, though, is priceless. His jaw is slack, his eyes a little wide so that she can see the whites of them, and his lip is quivering and wet because he’s just licked it, his body stiff beneath hers, and she knows he’s close. “R-Rey—”

He doesn’t get much else out in the way of warning. He’s coming apart inside of her, and another smile parts her lips as she rides him through it, both of them panting hard as they slowly come down from their high. 

For a moment, they stare at one another, lost in the aftermath, then Ben’s dimples make themselves known, and she’s being pulled off of him, and crushed into a warm embrace at his side. Her arms wrap around his waist, and his hands find their way back into her hair as he kisses her again, warmth flooding her body as he presses her into the back of the couch. 

This feels so normal, so perfect, that she forgets today is probably one of the biggest days of her life, and relaxes against him, feeling thoroughly sex drunk and satisfied. She doesn’t quite feel like she can take on the world just yet, but maybe after they have a good, long nap, she will. He’s right. What they have between them is strong, definitely strong enough to take on whatever shit storm they still have yet to face, and she knows that now. 

“Thank you,” she whispers. 

“For what?”

“Keeping me sane.” She laughs softly, her eyes closing as he presses a tiny, brief kiss to her lips. “You’re amazing, you know.”

“So are you.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been freaking out all day, and you’ve just been… there.”

His hand falls to her cheek then, fingers brushing aside a few stray—probably super fucked—strands of hair from her eyes. “I’ve been scared, too, if I’m being honest. I just—I don’t know. I know I’ve got you to help me get through it, so it’s not as scary. Does that make sense?” 

“Yeah, it does.” She adjusts herself so that they’re eye to eye, then she sighs. “We should move in together.”

“ _What?_ ”

“We should move in together. Let’s figure out whose rent is cheaper and renew a lease there,” she says. “Together.”

“What happened to taking no more big relationship milestones today?”

“I just said we should maybe wait a little longer to talk about getting married.” Another smile parts her lips. “But we’ve been wanting to do this for a month now. The only reason we haven’t done it already is because this was a secret, and now that it’s not…”

“Right.” He pauses, as if he’s thinking it over for a second, then he nods. “Yeah. I’d love to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I already have a drawer at your place anyway.” 

“Cool,” she breathes, then they’re laughing again, his lips pressing a series of kisses to her cheeks. “So we’re doing this?”

“We’re doing this.” 

Without another word, he’s kissing her, their kisses lazy and slow, not going anywhere but still pleasant all the same. It’s a wonderful feeling, she thinks, knowing that the future isn’t completely certain, but that she’s going to have him by her side through it all. The weeks ahead are going to be a bit of a challenge, but if today taught her anything, it’s that she has a wonderful support system, and in spite of everything, she can’t wait to see where it all goes.


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people really wanted the dinner with their parents so, here it is! This was a lot of fun to write and honestly if I could just bathe in this fic universe, I would.

Mum   
  
do you need me to bring anything?    
  
no, mom we are making everything   
  
ah, this boy of yours cooks?    
  
He’s a good cook.   
  
He hasn’t been poisoning you, has he?   
  
MUM   
  
If he is going to be dating you, I need to be sure he is good.   
  
He IS good mom. I’ve been with him for six months!   
  
Yes, and I will be angry until I am dead that I found out you found a man by watching you on the morning news.    
  


Rey rolls her eyes, looking up over her screen at the man in question as he sleeps lazily in the bed beside her. Her boyfriend is still snoring even—well, light snoring, but it still counts—and it doesn’t seem as though he’ll wake anytime soon even though she knows he’s probably got texts like this coming at him from both parents.

Briefly, she reaches out, her palm caressing his cheek as he sleeps on through the morning, but she knows she doesn’t have long. Her mother will be expecting a response at any moment now, and so she removes her hand, placing it back on her phone as she types a response to her mother.

Mum   
  
I’ve apologized for that a thousand times by now.   
  
And you can apologize a thousand more. I will see you and him later.   
  
Love you, mom.   
  
Love you, too. Send my well wishes to your boyfriend.   
  


Rolling her eyes, Rey shuts off her phone, and shifts closer to Ben, the movement jostling him into wakefulness. Well, at least enough so that his arms wrap around her and he’s pulling her on top of him so that she’s covering him like a blanket. He likes that, she’s noticed, having her on top of him so that her body heat shrouds him in warmth.

It’s a good thing she likes it, too, because she always ends up spreading her legs so that she’s straddling him, her calves resting on either side of his waist as she crosses her arms over her chest, and stares at him.

Right now, he’s blinking awake, his eyes gazing sleepily at her as he starts grinning, still barely coming out of his dreams but already excited to see her. It’s a known fact between them that they dream of each other, she wonders if maybe, just now, he’d been dreaming of her, of some grand adventure they’ll take on their lives together or something impossible.

“Hi,” he whispers, pulling her out of her thoughts as his biceps flex around her, a warm embrace that she melts into as she grins back at him.

“Hi.”

“How long have you been awake?”

“Just a few minutes,” she assures him, her fingers smoothing out the wrinkles of his old Coruscant University shirt as he listens to her speak. “My mother was texting me.”

“Oh? What did she say?” His hands begin stroking her hair gently, combing through the brunette waves that have come loose from the bun she put in her hair the day before. “She’s not still pissed at me, is she?”

Rey shakes her head. “No, babe, she’s pissed at me.” Pressing a brief kiss to his chin, just beneath the line of his lower lip, she sighs. “Well, not pissed, but she’s going to give me hell until I’m fifty. Maybe sixty if she’s still around by then.”

Laughter falls freely from his lips, then he lets go of her with one arm, reaching over to the nightstand on his side of the bed so that he can grab his phone. He looks at the screen for just long enough to check the time, then he winces, and sets it down. “My mother is giving me hell, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And my dad is just… I don’t know. I’m not sure how much more teasing I can take.”

“Oof, I’m sorry.”

“It’s what we get. We hid everything from them, and they’re probably the people we’re closest to aside from each other.” His tongue comes out to wet his lips. “I wish we hadn’t been so scared.”

She nods in understanding, then her hand comes up again to rest on his cheek, stroking gently over the tiny amount of stubble that’s formed in the past day since he’s shaved. “Me too, but hey, we did it eventually. We’re here now and things are good, really good. I think it was worth it, in the end.”

“Yeah, I think so, too,” he replies, then she kisses him, stealing whatever he’s going to say next on her lips as he hums softly against her.

She can feel the vibrations of that little sound through her body as his tongue comes out from between his lips, sweeping gently in as he deepens the kiss, the space between them completely null as they blend into one another, opening the day the only way they know how. He tastes like morning breath and vague hints of last night’s listerine, but she doesn’t care, he’s hers, every part of him, the good and the bad.

Life wouldn’t be better any other way.

“Mmm,” he breathes as she pulls away from his lips, her kisses trailing onto his jaw as the sounds of birds chirping outside in the early morning light fills their ears. “We should probably shower. We have a long day ahead.”

“Our parents aren’t coming over until five, Ben.”

“We have to cook,” he reminds her, kissing her again before he says anything else. “And clean.” _Kiss._ “ And mentally prepare.” _Kiss_. “And maybe buy one way tickets to Australia and hide.”

She laughs as she pulls away, shifting her position until she’s sitting back on his stomach, his taut muscles warm beneath her as her palms find their place on his chest. His heart is pounding against her hands, he’s nervous, remarkably so, and she wishes there was something she could do to ease his mind. “Ben, we’ll be okay.”

“I know. I know they’re supportive even if they’re giving us hell, but—“

“Remember last week when I was so fucking scared and you just held me and said we’d get through it?” Brushing back a piece of his hair from his face, she traces her thumb over the constellation of moles that covers it—the left side, at least—her trail ending at the plush rosy skin of his upper lip. “Consider this me returning the favor. You were just, so _incredible_ that day, and it was a good reminder that we are strong enough to get through whatever life throws at us.”

He chuckles softly. “I suppose meeting the parents is pretty low on the totem pole of scary things.”

“Mmhmm, but you are right, we could use a shower.”

“Uh huh,” she replies, then she rolls off of him so that she’s standing beside him, holding out her hand for his. “Come on. Let’s go shower.”

Smiling all over again, he takes her hand, his fingers engulfing hers as she pulls him from the bed and they run into their bathroom in a fit of giggles, the fear they’d both been feeling temporarily forgotten.

*

The shower turns out to become a debate on whether _Game of Thrones_ or _Lost_ had a worse ending, lasting way longer than either of them intend for it to. In fact, it’s so long, the water starts to run cold before either of them thinks to shampoo their hair. They somehow wind up clean but feeling rather foolish when they finally wrap themselves in towels half an hour later, their debate still unsettled even though Rey is sure she’s won.

_Game of Thrones_ was worse, her boyfriend is just playing devil’s advocate.

After the shower, they wind up discussing their debate further in bed, Ben deciding to lay her down on the mattress and press his argument into her skin between kisses. He finally surrenders as he slips inside of her, but she doesn’t get much time to enjoy her victory as he quickly takes charge of the situation. They have only twenty minutes before they have to seriously start cooking so he needs to be quick.

Somehow, they pull it off, and Rey is left breathless on the mattress to recover for a few minutes while Ben saunters away—gloriously naked—to commence preparations for his chef work. She joins him fifteen minutes later, but she’s scowling at him even as she sighs at the memory of how thoroughly he’d fucked her just minutes earlier.

By the time they’re setting the table for dinner a few hours later, she has almost completely forgotten her anxiety. She thinks Ben has too, his shoulders are no longer tense and whenever she’s in close contact with his chest his heart seems to be beating at a steady, even pace. They’ve got this, she thinks, remembering all the things he’d said to her last week when they’d first got caught, and feeling a renewed sense of confidence.

They can do this. It’s just their parents.

The fear, though, definitely strikes again when her mother texts her to announce her arrival. It hits her like a brick, but then the content of the text makes her smile, laughter following soon after as she texts her back.

“What is it?” Ben asks, walking in from the kitchen to see what she’s looking at.

As he joins her in the living room, she shakes her head, and holds out her phone for him to see. “I think my mom ran into your parents in the lobby.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

Mum   
  
I think Ben’s parents got here at the same time as me. There’s a very handsome older gentleman who is also waiting for the elevator.   
  
...are you sure?   
  
oh my god...   
  
I know   
  
He looks like the boy you sent me a photo of.   
  
Oh god, be nice.   
  
His wife does, too.   
  
Be nice. Don’t flirt with my boyfriend’s dad.   
  
I have done no such thing. He simply has nice facial structure.   
  
MUM!   
  


She’s miserable showing him this, but evidently, Ben finds it very funny. The instant he reads the last line of the exchange, he pulls away with a hand on his abdomen, and she can see his face flush red as he doubles over. “Oh dear god.”

“I’m glad you’re amused,” she says, wanting to chastise him further, but then there’s a knock at the door, and they both freeze. “Don’t tell my mum I showed you that.”

“Not a word,” he agrees, but he’s still giggling as he straightens up, and together, the two of them walk to the door, both incredibly nervous but excited as she takes the knob in her hands, and turns it to see the rather odd trio that is their parents staring at them with awkward smiles on their faces just outside the door.

“H-hello, mum,” she says, nodding to her mother, then she turns to the graying couple who must be Ben’s parents. “Mr and Mrs. Solo, welcome.”

“Call me Leia,” his mother insists, holding out her hand. “There’s never been a Mrs. Solo.” It’s a statement that could be said with malice and disdain, but she sounds very kind when she says it, as if she wouldn’t be bothered by anyone else making the mistake if they didn’t know her well, but given how much time they’re going to end up spending together, they both know it’s best to refer to one another properly.

“Ah, forgive me, Ben must’ve forgotten to mention that,” she replies, shaking his mother’s hand.

“Don’t worry about it, my wife’s never been a traditionalist,” his father says as she lets go of his mother’s hand. “I’m Han.”

She shakes his hand. “And I’m Rey.” Then she gestures between Ben and Maz. “Mum, this is Ben, Ben, this is Maz Kanata. My mother.”

As Ben shakes her mother’s hand, she mentally fist pumps that she didn’t stutter or say anything terribly awkward otherwise. Somehow, they made it through the initial introductions, now all they have to do is survive dinner.

“Rey, dear, you did not tell me you were dating a tree,” her mother says, looking up at Ben from where she stands at four foot two. “This is a redwood, not a man.”

The joke has all five of them laughing as Ben and Rey step back to let them in, her partner mouthing, “What’s a redwood?” as they all pile into the apartment, and make their way toward the kitchen.

She pats his shoulder in a way she hopes is loving. “I’ll show you later,” she promises him, then together, they lead their parents to their dining table, and the actual dinner finally begins.

*

The dinner is, perhaps, the easiest thing in the world. At least, it starts easily enough. Maz is casually flirting with Han but not too much, Leia is cracking jokes about all the dumb things Ben used to do as a baby, and Han keeps making innuendos about every other thing that gets said.

It doesn’t take long for her to decide she actually loves Ben’s parents. Or rather, she does until she remembers why they’re here, and Leia brings up the viral incident from last week that is _still_ somehow trending on twitter.

“I wanted to ask you both about what happened last week,” his mother says, causing them both to stiffen as she folds her hands over each other on the table. “How did it happen?”

“What do you mean?” Ben asks.

“How did your confession get aired?”

Rey’s cheeks go pink as she turns to look at her partner, who’s sitting next to her chewing on a pasta noodle as they both struggle to come up with a response. “Well, we didn’t realize the cameras were still rolling.”

Ben nods, taking her hand and swallowing his pasta noodle, then he looks up at his mother where she sits across from him. “We usually just cut straight to whoever’s in the field when we’re done talking. Flukes like that are so rare that we completely forgot to wait for the signal from the cameraman that we weren’t in the clear.”

“No, _I_ didn’t wait for the signal. You were perfectly fine.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t help when I said I’d make up for it later.”

A fresh wave of heat coats her cheeks as Maz visibly fights back the urge to spit out her drink just as she’s pulling the glass away from her lips. Her mother didn’t need a fresh reminder of that. “ _Ben_ ,” she growls.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid, we’ve all heard it a thousand times. It cycled through all the news networks no matter which one we turned to,” Han replies, then he crosses his arms over his chest and leans back in his chair. “But why didn’t you kiss her goodbye, Ben? I thought we raised you better than that.”

This time, _he’s_ the one who’s blushing. “I had a work emergency. Coworker wanted me to cover for him for something, and I don’t know, we were still dancing around saying ‘I love you,’ so—“

“And did you say it?” Maz asks. “I would hope after all the grief—“

“Mum!”

“Rey, I’m only teasing, but I would hope after all the grief you sent the three of us through with realizing our children had settled down without telling us, that you would tell her.”

At this, Ben manages a smile. “I did. I told her the minute the cameras stopped rolling.”

Leia makes a tiny sound that vaguely resembles an _aw_.“Oh, really?”

Rey rubs her thumb over the back of her boyfriend’s hand. “I was just thinking of telling him, too. I’d planned to wait until we got off work, but he beat me to it.” She turns her gaze to her mother. “I was a bit of a wreck when it happened. I hadn’t meant to expose our private lives like that, and I was worried he would hate it, but Ben took it like a champ. He just held me through it and told me it was going to be okay, and he was perfectly fine with going public, then he told me he loved me.”

Beside her, he laughs, then his warm, brown eyes fill her vision, and it takes all of her focus to keep hers on them and not his lips. “I was scared, but I don’t know, we’d been hiding for so long that I guess the universe decided it was time. Maybe that was our punishment for hiding it from everyone we loved for all those months.”

“I agree,” Leia jokes, the entire table falling into a new round of laughter as they continue their meal.

“That and all the things twitter is saying about us,” Rey says, thinking distinctly of the ones where Ben’s middle finger could bruise someone’s cervix and someone had three holes he was welcome to. “It’s… a lot.”

Han makes a confused noise. “What are they saying?”

She and Ben look at one another, neither quite sure how to phrase that the internet at large would like very much to have sex with them. Eventually, he manages to figure it out, and with a combination of a smirk and a blush on his face, he tells them. “Well, to put it mildly, they want us to make it up to them later.”

His father _does_ spit out his drink at this, the entire table fucking chortling as their faces turn spectacular shades of crimson. She can tell he’s won Maz over with that joke from the way her mother begins nodding when their eyes meet in the midst of it all, and even though her muscles are tense from laughing, she feels herself relax as she realizes they really did get all worked up over nothing. 

“That’s one way to put it indeed,” Leia says as everything begins to calm down, then she folds her hands over each other, and leans forward on the table. “So why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

This one Rey wants to answer, and so she leans into Ben a little, using him to provide her a bit of extra strength as she tries to find the words to say. “I think we were both scared of what would happen if we dated publicly and it turned out badly. Then as the months passed we just, I don’t know, we both have our own past relationship issues and we’re guarded, and it took a stroke of fate for us to realize we actually were ready to take that next step all along.”

“Agreed. It was getting exhausting,” Ben says. “And we were scared to tell you guys… I don’t think we really had any excuses.”

“None,” Rey agrees. “I think we just liked our little bubble, having that world that was only us, it was nice. Now everyone in the world knows we’re together and they have opinions on it, but whenever we’re alone it’s like nothing has changed.”

“Kind of feels like a weight was taken off of our shoulders.”

“Yeah, it does,” she says, then she presses the tiniest kiss to his cheek before she turns to face the others again. “We’re just glad we ripped off the band-aid.”

The way his parents smile at her after she says this makes her think that maybe, just maybe, she’s won them over, too. “We are, too,” Han assures her. “We started to think Ben would always be single.”

“ _Dad_!”

“Speaking of…” Leia leans across the table, lacing her fingers together as she prepares to speak again. “When are you buying her a ring?”

A groan comes from Han, Rey, and Ben as Leia and Maz immediately begin discussing wedding details, the couple in question rolling their eyes as they ignore the conversation, their gaze focused solely on each other.

“I think we’re gonna wait a bit longer on that,” Rey says quietly, causing Ben to nod hurriedly in agreement.

“Absolutely. It’s like you said, we shouldn’t cross too many milestones too fast.”

“Mmm, you might be the one, Solo.”

Snorting his amusement, he gestures to the other three people at the table. “You can tell me all about that later, for now, I think we need to survive the rest of this first.”

“That’ll be easy, my mum loves you.”

“And my parents love you, but I don’t think we should risk destroying that so early.”

“Good point,” she replies, then they look away from each other again, rejoining the conversation in a vain attempt to steer it away from their possible future wedding.

*

Hours later when their parents have finally left and they’ve cleaned up the party, they’re lying in bed together kissing softly as they ignore what they’ve decided to watch on Netflix. It’s not going anywhere, they aren’t having sex again tonight—she definitely doesn’t feel very sexy after spending an afternoon with her mother and neither does he—but it’s nice.

His lips are soft and warm against hers, and she’s running her nails gently against his scalp as he pulls her on top of him again, smothering himself with her body as his arms hold her close. Her head is spinning as she returns it, her body heated but not on fire, and she finds that this may be her favorite form of bliss, just laying in bed kissing him for hours as time passes without them.

At one point, Ben’s hand cups her ass, but that’s as sexy as it gets. Tonight is just about coming down from all the anxiety they’ve had over the past several days about this exact thing, and returning back to the comfortable shell that exists when it’s just them.

The kisses grow ever more gentle after that, slowing to nearly a halt as they move together, matching one another’s rhythm perfectly as they kiss and kiss and kiss until they pull back, seeming to decide that they want to breathe for a couple of minutes instead.

As they laugh quietly with one another, her forehead rests against his, and she knows beyond all doubt that in spite of how scary and intense this week has been, they’ll be okay. They’ve made it through two major relationship tests, and that gives her confidence that they’ll make it through more. They can do anything, and they will, they just have to let a little more time pass first.

Mum   
  
I like your boyfriend.   
  
He’s sweet.   
  
Oh, thank god   
  
But when is he buying you a ring? I can only guarantee that I will see that father of his again if he’s my son-in-law.    
  
MUM   
  
He’ll buy me a ring when we’re ready.   
  
I am just kidding, goodnight, dear.   
  
Goodnight, Mum ❤️   
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's late but here's an election night special based on all the news anchor thirst from a couple weeks back
> 
> \--also in a world in which covid doesn't exist lol

Ben 💖  
  
Today’s the day, babe.  
  
I want to die.  
  
So does most of the country, Ben.  
  
We’ve got this.  
  
They’re gonna need to put a catheter in me cause I DOUBT I’ll have time to fucking piss.  
  
GOD  
  
It’s true.  
  
Okay, just breathe. I’ll be at the studio in five minutes. I’m bringing Dunkin.  
  
Mm have I ever told you how much I love you?  
  
You tell me every morning, Ben.  
  
Yeah but you don’t bring me dunkin every morning  
  
True  
  
maybe one of these days I’ll have to do more than tell you I love you  
  
Like what?  
  
Ask me after the election’s over.  
  
What the hell does that mean?  
  
It means I love you.  
  
Love you too, dickhead  
  
See you soon 💖.  
  


Rey’s heart is beating at the speed of light as she sets her phone back in the pocket of her blazer. It’s not just her boyfriend being mysterious and vague—though that certainly does something to her body—but the election is finally going to be over tonight. Well, it’ll start tonight.

The race is looking to be extremely close, some Bush-Gore type stuff, she just hopes this time the incumbent in red loses.

Not that it’ll make her job easier if he does. Either way, she’s in for a shit show of a next three months. Even if President Leonard Snoke concedes, there’ll be hell to pay, and they and their country are going to suffer.

But for now, it’s just beginning, and beginnings, she’s learned, are much easier than whatever’s in the middle. _Sometimes._

Heading into the studio now, she feels more relaxed than she did before. All it takes to get her head together some days is the right person—or people. Ben and their coworkers at The Morning Report’s studio have a way of making her feel better even on the worst of news days, even when all there is to report is death and destruction.

Things have been easier, though, since the blunder from six months ago, since she’d accidentally admitted to fucking Ben on national television. Sure, the internet had gone—and still does sometimes—into a tizzy, but it had been worth it in the end.

As a result of being out in the public eye, they no longer have to worry about whose place they’re going to sneak out of in the morning. They now have their own apartment in downtown Coruscant, a high rise with a view of the city and the river below, somewhere nice to call their own.

They’d moved in about a month after the incident had hadn’t looked back since. They even have a cat now, a little black kitten they’ve named Rory in honor of the _Doctor Who_ companion of the same name.

Rory, of course, has a catsitter, a neighbor of theirs who is going to be looking in and out of their apartment for an unknown amount of time tonight. The thought of it almost makes her nervous, not knowing when she’ll see her cat again.

It’ll end eventually, though, it has to. No election can drag on forever, can it?

Her phone buzzing again in her hand brings her back to reality, the worried thoughts about her cat, home, and relationship dissipating in favor of checking to see what sort of flirty and slightly concerning text Ben’s sent her now.

Of course, the minute she raises her screen to her face, she realizes it is not, in fact, Ben.

Rose 🌹  
  
Ben says you’re bringing Dunkin, did you get any for me?  
  
I love me some donuts  
  
Rose, babe. I love you so much, but are you my boyfriend?  
  
Hm??  
  
Unfortunately not.  
  
Ah in another life, my love.  
  
ALAS! Are you here yet, though? Cause you’re on in forty minutes and my makeup kit is waiting patiently for your arrival.  
  
I’m here. I have to drop things off for my boyfriend, first.  
  
😏 Y’all better not try to bone in the supply closets again. Literally everyone heard you.  
  
Shut UPPP. I’m just glad HR didn’t know.  
  
You’re terrible, I love you.  
  
I love you, too dingus. I’m almost there.  
  
I’m trembling with anticipation  
  
I meant I’m almost to Ben, you fool.  
  
Ooh speaking of Ben, you should know twitter’s losing their minds over you guys again.  
  
Oh great. What are they saying this time?  
  
Check.  
  


Rey groans as she switches from the messages app to her twitter, trying not to run into people as the stupid, blue bird app loads, and without being prompted to click anything, she can already see the first few tweets.

Rosetta Stone  
@PicoDeTico   
REMINDER: Don’t be creepy about The Morning Report hosts tonight. I mean,,, no moreso than usual I’m highly entertained. 5:59 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  1210  10292 

K O N N I C K S  
@kaydelconnix   
@PicoDeTicoListen thinking about their flirty banter is the only thing keeping me going rn I’m so sorry 😩 6:15 PM - 03 November 2020  90  182 

No Hetero  
SolosSugarBaby   
Thinkin about how hard I’m gonna bust tonight when I hear “And this is The Morning Report” from Ben Solo’s mouth.😭 4:30 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  232  2973 

REYNESMEE  
@Heyaeyae   
@PicoDeTico Listennnnnnnnnnnnnn… They’re just so fine they’re the only thing that’s going to get me through this night fam. 4:47 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  78  453 

Tallie Ho  
@TallieSpin   
I am ready for the morning report hosts to use me like a common whore tonight. 5:02 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  878  2321 

Rolling her eyes, she switches back over to the messaging app. There isn’t much time for her to text Rose again before she reaches Ben’s dressing room, but there’s a little.

Just enough to give her a pinch of the hell she’ll give later.

Rose 🌹  
  
You are definitely responsible for this  
  
Not my fault you guys became national sex symbols  
  
I’m killing you later. Right now I’ve got to kiss my boyfriend.  
  
GIRL—  
  
😘  
  


She pockets her phone just before she makes it to Ben’s dressing room, not even bothering to knock before she throws the door open, and before she can even start to look for him, warm, sturdy arms wrap around her waist, and she’s being pulled inside. Laughter spills from them both, causing her to nearly drop the full Dunkin bag she’s brought him.

Luckily, she holds onto her things, even if they swing around and hit his back as he sets her on the ground, then he pulls back, his hands reaching up to caress both cheeks as she leans in, and does as she promised Rose—she kisses her boyfriend. More importantly, though, her boyfriend kisses her back, and though they’ve only been separated for a few hours, it soothes her soul like a balm she didn’t know she needed.

Instantly all the nerves in her body feel calmed, and as one of his hands snakes its way back into her hair, she senses his body relaxing, too. They’re both put at ease just being in each other’s presence, something which has become her favorite part of their relationship in the year they’ve been together.

Well, it’ll be a year in three weeks. Just three more little weeks until a year will have passed since the first time they’d gone out on a date, the first time he’d approached her at the end of the work day and finally managed to ask her out properly.

Pulling back, she presses a kiss to the tip of his nose, sighing contentedly as she rests her forehead against his. “I don’t have long.”

“I don’t care,” he whispers, kissing her once more before he finally pulls back, and retrieves the takeout bag from her hands. “I’m just glad I got to see you—and my food—before we go on tonight.”

Rey rolls her eyes, then she leans back against the door as he sets the bag down, and begins rifling through it. His broad shoulders are tense as he pulls out the bagel and the wrap she’d gotten for him, the smell of coffee filling the air shortly thereafter. Though she can only see half of his face, the dimples that form make the corners of her mouth twitch.

_God, does she love those dimples._

But she loves touching him more, and they’re definitely about to be on camera for more than five hours tonight. Being on camera means no touching. It’s part of the rules they’d agreed to when they’d officially come out with their relationship to HR—well, when their relationship had accidentally been revealed on live television.

They can’t kiss again until after the night is over.

Huffing slightly, she pushes off the wall, and walks forth until she can wrap her arms around his waist, pulling him close so she can rest her head against his upper back. Soft laughter spills forth from his lips, then one of his hands comes up to rest over hers where they meet over his belly button, and he squeezes gently. “I love you, too.”

“I didn’t even say it.”

“You don’t have to. I already know. Besides, you said it earlier when we were texting.”

Rey just laughs, then she begins to press soft little kisses to the base of his neck, reaching around to the sides of it as he hums contentedly. “Babe, I can’t eat my food if you’re doing that.”

Another kiss. “I don’t care.”

“I can’t be hard on air, Rey.”

Satisfaction wells within her at the thought that he’s already become hard just from her giving him a few little neck kisses, but she forces herself to focus. “Think of your mother.”

A loud groan fills the air, then he turns around, setting down the bagel and the wrap in the process as he points a stern finger to the center of her chest. “You’re terrible.”

“Mmhmm, and I also have to go soon, so you better kiss me one more time before I go off to see Rose.”

“I can’t kiss you while I’m thinking of my mother, Rey.”

“Stop thinking about your mum for a second then and kiss me.”

“Rey…”

“Please?”

A smirk forms on his lips, then he leans forward, one of his hands coming up to tilt her chin toward him. “It’s times like this I remember why I used to hate you, you know.” Then before she can tell him to shut his damn mouth, he’s kissing her again, and her mind goes blank.

No thoughts are in her head, all she can think or feel is his mouth, his lips on hers, his tongue exploring her gently as his hand finds its way back into her hair. Even though they’d just kissed a minute ago, this new kiss makes her feel alive in a new way, her body wants to surge forth into his, wants to pin him to the counter behind him and have her way with him, but she can’t.

They don’t have time.

She gives herself ten more seconds to enjoy it. Ten more seconds of just kissing endlessly like they have no tomorrow, like it’s their first and last time all at once, but then she knows she has to pull away. She can kiss him later, when they know Snoke is out of office and Obi-Wan Kenobi has taken his place.

Although she'll kiss him either way, she just hopes that it’s a victory kiss and not something desperate.

Whimpering softly, she pulls back, kissing him quickly one last time before she squeezes his shoulder. “Love you.”

“See you later?”

“I’ll see you in twenty,” she says, then she leaves the room, making her way out to her dressing room, and into the rest of the night.

*

Ben rolls his sleeves up first. The results start to come in almost immediately, the states already beginning to pop up on their map in muted shades of red and blue that make their hearts race from the moment it starts, but they have to keep their faces calm and collected.

The public is already freaking out enough. The last thing anyone needs is a great big panic just because two news anchors couldn’t keep it together.

Still, she knows he’s nervous by the slight sheen on his triceps that she hopes the cameras can’t pick up, by the way he tucks the sleeves carefully into themselves once he’s finished and runs his hands through his hair. It’s kind of sexy, actually, and a nice distraction from the fear settling into the pit of her stomach that they’re going to lose.

Twitter is probably going insane right now. And it probably goes even more insane when she does the same thing five minutes later, except she removes her blazer to do it and ties her hair back with a little black hair-band.

The unholy tweets, she thinks, are probably through the roof.

A s s in assassin  
@SunFlowers1   
WHEN BEN SOLO PUT HIS GOD DAMN SLEEVES UP I- B R U H 8:07 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  123  2312 

Finnstagram  
@FinnItToWinnIt   
MAN FUCK EVERYONE ELSE BEN SOLOS ARMS FOR PRESIDENT 2020 💪💪#Biceps2020 8:08 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  213  1123 

Rey has no idea what’s going on with social media. It’s not that she’s ever on it even if she has a verified account. The Morning Report doesn’t require her to tweet work promotions hardly ever, since it has a twitter account of its own.

By the time nine o’clock rolls around, she can’t focus on what social media is saying anymore. All she can think about is how close it is. Somehow, after the last four years, people still apparently want more of their piece of shit incumbent. It’s a thought she cannot fathom, and yet half the states are showing up as red, half the states she’s called—with bile in her throat—have been for Snoke.

Every time she looks at Ben, though, she calms down, pulling from the bond they’ve forged between them to keep herself sane as the hours pass. By the time another half an hour rolls by, she thinks he’s doing the same exact thing, that he’s also using thoughts of her to destress.

It makes her love him more.

Baby Shark  
@doodoodoodododooo   
NOT MISS REY KANATA PUTTING HER HAIR UP IM—I hate them so much 9:32 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  392 2314 

Thyme and Space  
NeverOutOfTime   
Every time #reylo look at each other I feel serotonin. They’re the only thing getting me through this fam. 10:12 PM - 03 NOVEMBER 2020  42  246 

The tide begins to shift at half past ten. A surprising amount of blue starts cropping up, and well, it’s not covering the bulk of the country technically, but all the places the votes are needed are lighting up, Kenobi’s ride to two hundred and seventy looking like it’s going to be fairly smooth if a little bumpy in some places.

Of course, that’s assuming that Snoke decides to concede tonight. They sure as shit hope he will. It isn’t looking good for him. Kenobi only needs to win three more states—and it can be any three—to get the presidency. His opponent needs, well, more than that.

The good news is, the more votes that come in their favor, the bigger Ben’s smile gets. It’s one of those smiles where she can tell he’s trying—and failing—to hide it, but it’s another comforting sign, another beacon in the dark of the night. Outside, it’s pitch black, but in here, it’s not just the lights that are blinding. It’s him.

That smile gives her a boost that keeps her going through the next hour, all the way until the victor of the election becomes certain just before midnight, when they announce that Obi-Wan Kenobi will be the next President.

Never Coming Back Down  
@LookingDownOnClouds   
@TheMorningReport SAVED THE ELECTION EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU REY AND BEN SOLO ##12:01 AM - 04 NOVEMBER 2020  832  2314 

Ass and Tissues  
IttyBitties   
@LookingDownOnCloudsThey’re not married though fam 😂 12:02 AM - 04 NOVEMBER 2020  12  87 

Never Coming Back Down  
@LookingDownOnCLouds   
@IttyBitties NOT YET!!!😉 12:03 AM - 04 NOVEMBER 2020  231  723 

The minute the cameras stop rolling, she’s being scooped up into his arms again, kisses pressing into the sides of her head as he spins her around, laughing delightedly in joy, relief, and pure, pure delight at being alive. Rey's fingers twine themselves in his hair, tugging him close as he whirls her about until he seems to tire of it, then he sets her down.

“God, I love you so much,” he whispers in her ear, and even though they’re still in front of the cameras and all their coworkers, she doesn’t care. They’re all too busy with their own celebrations anyway, and she really, really could not care less. Right now, she’s just been told that the world she lives in is going to keep spinning, that she’s going to spend the next four years hating the state of the nation a little less.

Unless something goes severely wrong, in which case she plans to knock on a lot of wood.

“I love you, too.”

A kiss is pressed to her forehead before he pulls back, then he sighs. “I am really, really glad tonight went the way we wanted it to.” Brushing a piece of hair back from her face, he places his hand on her cheek, causing her to become aware that he’s trembling.

Concern floods her immediately as she wonders what’s causing him to tremble. Maybe it’s the excitement—she’s certain she’s probably trembling, too. The atmosphere right now feels like something out of the happy ending to a thrilling movie, one where the characters finally get what they’ve been working for for the past two hours—except this one is months long.

 _It’s not the excitement,_ a tiny part of her brain whispers, and she can’t explain how, but she knows it’s right. Excitement isn’t the reason why Ben’s shaking. That’s probably why she places her hands on his shoulders, why she squeezes them gently and holds him close, knowing that whatever it is, she can guide him through it the way he always does for her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just…” He takes a deep breath. “Do you remember how you went to Chopsticks after we outed ourselves to the country and the Chopsticks lady was all, ‘when are you getting married,’ and you were texting me complaining about it and we both agreed it wasn’t time yet?”

It comes out in such a rush, she has to blink a few times to process it. “What?”

“I just… I kind of wanted to ask you then, and I want to ask you even more now. So I told myself that if things went our way tonight, I wouldn’t hold anything back, I was just going to do it, I was just going to ask you.”

“Uh huh…”

“Rey.”

“Yeah?”

“You wanna get married?”

The answer comes to her immediately. She’s known from almost the first time they kissed that she won’t want to kiss anyone else, that she’s not exactly looking to date anyone after him, and she’s never thought of their relationship as having a deadline, but to hear him acknowledge that out loud? It’s the best gift he could have ever given her.

And she doesn’t want to leave him waiting.

Leaning forward, she gives him a brief, sweet kiss on the lips. “Yes,” she whispers against him, then she pauses. “Wait, was this what you were talking about earlier when I was texting you? Is this what you were nervous about?”

A blush coats his cheeks a charming shade of pink. “Yeah, pretty much. I’ve been thinking of buying you a ring and all, but I know you like things to be lowkey and I wanted to wait until we were already engaged so you could have a say in picking it.”

The smile on her face grows impossibly wide. “Oh, yes, you’re definitely the one I’m supposed to marry.”

Giggles fill the air as he kisses her again, his body relaxing against hers as they share another short, but passionate kiss that sets her heart galloping off into the sunset. It’s the best night of her life, if she’s being honest. She’s tired, her feet are sore, and she can still see electoral college maps behind her eyelids, but she’s come out of that battle victorious and engaged. All of her complaints fall short, especially in light of that last bit.

They slowly drift apart, still beaming at one another even as Rey checks the time on her watch, wincing at how late in the evening it’s gotten. “We need to get home. I want to sleep.”

“Mm, that’s my personal favorite way of taking you to bed,” he says, causing her to laugh as she smacks her fiance’s chest.

“Shut up.”

“Home then?”

“Yeah,” she says, slipping her hand into his. “Let’s go home. It’s been a long, long night.”


End file.
